Proxy challenge from Standard General turned back

Tegna said that its shareholders re-elected all 12 of the company’s directors at its annual meeting Thursday, turning back a proxy challenge from Standard General, which owns 9% of the company’s stock.

A preliminary vote count showed Gina Bianchini, Howard Elias, Stuart Epstein, Lidia Fonseca, Karen Grimes, David Lougee, Scott McCune, Henry McGee, Susan Ness, Bruce Nolop, Neal Shapiro, and Melinda Witmer retaining their seats.

“We are grateful that our shareholders have supported our highly qualified and experienced directors,” said Elias, the chairman of the board.

“This outcome is a validation of our Board’s ongoing commitment to driving value for all shareholders. The Board has benefited from the opportunity to speak directly with shareholders about Tegna’s strategy and performance and to hear their feedback and perspective,” Elias said. “We appreciate that Standard General has a large investment in Tegna and look forward to moving past the proxy contest and having a constructive dialogue with [Standard General founder] Soo Kim going forward.”

Standard General had criticized Tegna’s stock performance and merger and acquisition strategy. It nominated four directors including Kim.